Rogers, Shaw team up for Netflix competitor Shomi

Canadian broadcasting giants, trembling in the face of the shifting television landscape brought on by upstarts like Netflix, are hoping viewers will show them some love.

Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications have taken the wraps off a long-rumoured digital subscription service called Shomi, set to debut this November at a cost of $8.99 per month. It will offer on-demand access to past seasons of as many as 340 TV shows, including the likes of Modern Family, Sons of Anarchy, American Horror Story, 24: Live Another Day and many more.

Shomi aims to fill a void between Netflix’s TV offerings – which, particularly in Canada, are thin on recent seasons of many popular shows – and the cable giants’ own first-run programming.

“It wasn’t about finding those long-lost things that came and went, it was about reaching into the really popular content,” said Barbara Williams, senior vice president of content for Shaw Media.

“People told us they want access to the back seasons of that stuff, and there’s nowhere to get it at the moment,” Williams said. “It does make us absolutely different from Netflix.”

The joint venture – a unique undertaking for the rival companies – will initially be available to Rogers and Shaw cable TV or Internet customers, accessible via the company’s own set-top boxes as well as Apple’s iOS devices, Android devices and the Xbox 360 game console. Over time, other devices will be supported, and other interested cable and Internet providers brought on board, said Rogers Media president Keith Pelley.

“Our goal would obviously be all (Internet) connected devices,” Pelley said at a Toronto news conference Tuesday, where the service was shown in action for the first time.

Bell Media was reportedly in talks to be part of the Shomi venture but ultimately bowed out, leading to speculation that Bell has its own subscription service in the works. A Bell spokesman said the company has no comment on Shomi at this time.

The service will launch in a beta form while Shomi gathers feedback from subscribers. Pelley said it will likely be six to 12 months before Shomi is a full-fledged offering, and will ramp up to its advertised 14,000 episodes of TV content and 1,200 movies over its first year of service.

“We’ll listen to consumers, hear what they have to say about the product, and adjust,” Pelley said.

The service will use formulas to determine what sort of shows subscribers might like, helped along by human-curated categories like Comic-Con Hangover and Dating Bad. Original content, similar to what Netflix has done with House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, is “definitely on our roadmap,” said Pelley.

Rogers and Shaw Internet customers who access Shomi via their computer or mobile devices will have to dip into their data plans to stream content on the service, said Pelley. And there’s no guarantee that the two Internet providers will offer a level playing field when it comes to streaming their own service versus competitors like Netflix.

“All that would be speculation right now,” said Pelley of any potential bandwidth advantage Shomi might be given over Netflix. Williams, when asked if she could explicitly say that Shomi streaming traffic would not be given precedence over competitors’ traffic, said, “No, I will not explicitly say that. But we know that it’s really important that our customers feel they’re getting a high-quality streaming service at a reasonable price.” A Netflix spokesman said the company has no comment on Shomi at this time.

Reactions to the Shomi announcement on social media were mixed, with some calling it a potential Netflix-killer and others dismissing it as an attempt by broadcasters to remain relevant to a generation of cord-cutters who have abandoned traditional TV.

Shomi the numbers

What is it?

Shomi is a Netflix-style streaming service that will offer on-demand access to recent seasons of popular TV shows.

Who’s behind it?

The new company is a joint venture of Toronto-based Rogers Communications and Calgary-based Shaw Communications.

How much will it cost?

$8.99 per month, the same as a Netflix subscription. It will launch in a beta form this November, initially available to Rogers and Shaw cable or Internet customers.

What shows will it have?

By the end of its first year, the service is targeting 14,000 episodes – or 11,000 hours – of 340 TV shows, including Modern Family, Sons of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow, Shameless, 2 Broke Girls, Vikings, New Girl, 24: Live Another Day, Chicago Fire, The Strain and American Horror Story. There will also be about 1,200 movies available.

What devices will it support?

Shomi will be available on Rogers and Shaw cable set-top boxes, as well as Internet-connected PCs, Apple and Android smartphones and tablets and the Xbox 360 game console. More devices will be supported over time.

Why this, why now?

Online viewing of television content has tripled since 2011, and the broadcasters say they need to evolve to meet the needs of their customers.

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